ltoolio

Now that I have my lower bellhousing off, I'm looking to finally replace out my front two pinch bolts. I did the rear one last year, but couldn't get the front ones out due to my headers blocking the bellhousing (headers are off for some exhaust work).

As luck would have it, neither of the two pinch bolts are at an orientation where I can remove / replace, so I need to rotate the shaft a wee bit to get them in a good place.

I understand there are (at least) 2 ways I could get it to rotate:
1. Engage the clutch to allow for manual rotation.
2. Rotate the engine with the (I think) the car in gear.

I can't do the first since the clutch slave isn't connected, and I don't have room to do the second due to the extra HW from my supercharger (not enough room between the bolt, pulley and radiator).

Am I (likely) over-complicating something here, meaning that there is a solution that I'm missing or not considering? Am I incorrect in the assumption that the clutch needs to be engaged to rotate the shaft? Am I looking at the wrong place to rotate the engine CW (NOT CCW)? Is all of this a sign that I should not be wrenching on this car?

SeanR

Rotate the engine by hand until you can access each bolt. They are 180 out from each other. Leave the clutch engaged. I'm assuming you have the wheels off the ground right?

ltoolio

Yep. Sure do. Up on liftbars.

This is where my personal idiot-light might be illuminated.

Where I *think* I'm supposed to rotate it is @ the lower-most pulley. The pulley that I have is (I believe) part of my supercharger setup, and it doesn't allow enough room to get a 27mm deep socket inside.

It's entirely possible, and even likely, that I'm looking in the wrong place. I've searched through the WSM and assorted Google Searches, but haven't come up with anything conclusive.

SeanR

You can rotate it using a pry bar on the flywheel or get one of these.

ltoolio

Ah. So premise of the tool is to be able to grab the teeth of the flywheel using the tip of the driver and the extension, then rotate by using force on the handle?

GlenL

Put the car in neutral and turn it by hand. Grab the starter ring and heave. Work gloves can help. It may not turn fast but you can get it aligned perfectly whilst staying under the car. Wait a moment if it gets stiff from compression and it'll dissipate.

Mrmerlin

OR get a long prybar and put it behind the rear edge of the pressure plate and the release arm,
gently pry back on the release arm, this will release the clutch,
with your other hand turn the drive shaft till your happy.

Make sure you set the depth of the stub shaft,
you want to push it all the way forward till it bottoms into the pilot bearing,
then pull it to the rear about 3 to 4 MM,
this will let the stub shaft tip sit properly in the pilot.

NOTE if the stub shaft is bottomed out into the pilot bearing it can cause thrust bearing wear similar to the autos,
also the bearing can be damaged and lockup this can lead to the driveshaft continuing to spin with the clutch released.

ltoolio

Do I need to release the rear bolt in order to do this? Or leave it installed?

Mrmerlin

the rear bolt at the trans axle should be the first bolt tightened.

If it has not been checked then it would be wise to inspect the rear bolt ,
make sure the shaft cutout is centered in the input shaft.

Install the bolts with blue loctite on the threads torque to 66 ft/lbs

linderpat

And make darn sure you have extra safety measures holding up\ securing the car if you are laying under it and performing those maneuvers. You could twist the car off the lift bars\stands and drop it right on top of you.

ltoolio

I have the car on liftbars and 6ton jacks on all four corners. I've thought about putting some wood boards underneath the wheels to provide extra safety, but haven't done it yet. Would that be your recommendation?

Dave928S

^^ Where I can I always put extra safeguards in place. If I'm under the car and wheels are off, putting the wheels under the discs, and with wheels, on something under the tyre. I sometimes place extra jack stands, or a jack, in strategic locations to lessen risk, if I haven't or can't safeguard at the wheels.

You can never be too careful.

linderpat

Yes, I would if performing the work you are going to do. An oil change or some light work underneath, probably not.

^^^^This.

Dr Bob wrote about how little twisting force is required to unseat a car from jack stands. The 6 tons, with or without liftbars, only applies in the up and down "Y" axis. Add twisting momentum to that, and much lower force is required to move the car and unsettle it. The lift bars do help stabilize somewhat, but I would not take a big gamble when it is cheap and easy to add other safety precautions. You may be under there putting a good twisting motion on that gear - pushing sideways to get it moving. Don't take the chance. These other guys offering advice mostly have their cars on lifts when they do these procedures. My $.02.

ltoolio

Gents -
Thank you so much for the input. I'm always appreciative of advice that helps keep me alive.

What is a common means of providing an additional layer of security beyond the Lift Bars? I was thinking about buying a bunch of 2'x2' boards and then centering them under the wheels. Is there a better way to make it safer while I'm twisting the starter ring?

Dave928S

I've always used cut up 8 - 9 foot hardwood railway sleepers, which I can buy at a timber or landscaping yard, and which I also used on construction sites for mobile crane footplates. I'd use them singly, stacked, or in soft conditions 3 wide, and then 3 more stacked on top the other way around. Never had a breakage even on 100 tonne crane stabilising legs.

You can cut four out of one sleeper which makes them cheap, and a useful size for stacking. The pic shows two of them a bit over 2 feet long, 3" thick, and 8" wide. I've also got 2" and 1" thick sections of other material where I'm wanting to build up to a specific height to use a bottle jack, or support something under the car. I mix the direction of the stacks to give stability front to back, and side to side, and I usually add two additional jackstands under the front crossmember, or at front suspension points, to give added stability.

Your aim is to put something under the wheels, or elsewhere, that would stop the car dropping down to a level that would crush you ... and if not under the wheels, but somewhere else under the car, even if that resulted in damage to the car to save you.